Waterton in winter, Castle Mountain Provincial Park, Belton Bridge in Glacier, Deadman, Silver Crest snowshoe

Katie snow-shoeing along the South Fork of the Castle River in the Castle Mountain Provincial Wildlands Park near Pincher Creek, Alberta

Just a small number of the elk in a herd of about 1,000 animals on Hay Barn flat in Waterton Park

An amazing sunset at Waterton Park

Exploring the Glacier Park Belton Bridge area near Apgar

 Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada has been one of my favorite spots in the Canadian Rockies for nearly 50 years, but I had never experienced it in the winter.

We got the chance this past week, spending two nights at the newly rebuilt Kilmorey Lodge, and taking sidetrips to Castle Mountain Provincial Wildlands Park, Glacier and Whitefish.

The highlight of the trip was a snowshoe in Castle Mountain Park outside Pincher Creek, Alberta, just north of Waterton.

We've been there before, but this time we snowshoed 7-miles along the South Fork of Castle Creek in beautiful aspen-pine forest beneath towering peaks.  We started at the Castle Mountain Ski Area and finished at the Syncline trailhead.  This park was created by the Province of Alberta six years ago.  It offers access to high peaks and passes across the Continental Divide to British Columbia.

It reminds me of our Bob Marshall Wilderness complex.

At Waterton the wind howled persistently for the three days we were there, and we drove as far as the snowplow had cleared the Cameron Lake Road where we found cross country ski tracks headed to the lake.  The wind made things too inhospitable to take them.

We were satisfied with the lodge, which only opened this past fall, and the Waterton Lake scenery.  Services are minimal in Waterton, with limited food options, so we ate twice for dinner at the Kilmorey dining room, and lounge, and twice for breakfast in the lounge.

It was astonishing to see about 1,000 elk out at the Hay Barn flats every evening.  I don't think I've seen this many elk even during the rut at Mammoth in Gardiner at Yellowstone National Park.

On our final evening at Waterton we were treated to the elk again as well as a spectacular, orange fireball-like sunset.

Our drive to Waterton between Browning and the Canadian border was harrowing because we got caught in a blizzard.  We had to pull over twice for more than an hour to wait it out.  We were glad to see the Leaning Tree Restaurant near Babb for one of our breaks.  The Canadian side was clear and the storm had abated.

On our way out of Canada we headed for Whitefish with a stop in Glacier Park and a short hike from the Belton Bridge over the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.

Prior to the trip I did 747 one more time.  It's getting to be my default.

And, we did a cross country snowshoe with Wayne Phillips at Silver Crest in the Little Belts, and then a Deadman back country ski a day later.  The snow had settled some and was in pretty good shape.